Introduction:
Due to human’s history of adverse interference, the livelihood of the normally abundant Australian Sea Lion has been affected. It is a pinniped animal, belonging to the genus Neophoca and the species cinerea.. Within this report there will be discussion of why Australian Sea Lions are considered a keystone species, including what their role is in resourcing, dominating, as well as maintaining the ecosystem they populate; scenarios of what would happen if they went extinct; how humans have impacted them; and how humans can resolve their activities.
Why it is a Keystone Species:
It has been proven that Australian Sea Lions create a balance in the marine ecosystem because they drive out and maintain the populous of the marine wildlife …show more content…
The Australian Sea Lion’s diet plays a key part (Gales, N.J et al. 1992), as it’s the main factor in managing this balance, particularly of smaller species. Elsewise there were to be uproar of these smaller teleost fish, and most possibly a decline in its apex predators. It can be observed that the balance would be gone as the Australian Sea Lion is the ‘main structural block’ that holds the ecosystem …show more content…
White Pointer Sharks, otherwise known as a Great White Shark, view this species of sea lion as prey (Goldsworthy, SD et al. 2009) for a food source. If the Australian Sea Lion ceased to exist, so would the White Pointer Shark due to its primary source of nutrition dying out. In this scenario a separate food chain and ecosystem, that would ordinarily be managed by White Pointer Sharks (being a keystone species), would lose its balance if the Australian Sea Lion went extinct. This is why it is imperative for the Australian Sea lion to remain alive to manage the serenity amongst the oceanic community, without humans interfering in their
Due to human’s history of adverse interference, the livelihood of the normally abundant Australian Sea Lion has been affected. It is a pinniped animal, belonging to the genus Neophoca and the species cinerea.. Within this report there will be discussion of why Australian Sea Lions are considered a keystone species, including what their role is in resourcing, dominating, as well as maintaining the ecosystem they populate; scenarios of what would happen if they went extinct; how humans have impacted them; and how humans can resolve their activities.
Why it is a Keystone Species:
It has been proven that Australian Sea Lions create a balance in the marine ecosystem because they drive out and maintain the populous of the marine wildlife …show more content…
The Australian Sea Lion’s diet plays a key part (Gales, N.J et al. 1992), as it’s the main factor in managing this balance, particularly of smaller species. Elsewise there were to be uproar of these smaller teleost fish, and most possibly a decline in its apex predators. It can be observed that the balance would be gone as the Australian Sea Lion is the ‘main structural block’ that holds the ecosystem …show more content…
White Pointer Sharks, otherwise known as a Great White Shark, view this species of sea lion as prey (Goldsworthy, SD et al. 2009) for a food source. If the Australian Sea Lion ceased to exist, so would the White Pointer Shark due to its primary source of nutrition dying out. In this scenario a separate food chain and ecosystem, that would ordinarily be managed by White Pointer Sharks (being a keystone species), would lose its balance if the Australian Sea Lion went extinct. This is why it is imperative for the Australian Sea lion to remain alive to manage the serenity amongst the oceanic community, without humans interfering in their